At the Ball
by Shadowcat1988
Summary: The king and queen hold a ball for the new knights. Kel gets asked by someone surprising. Original summary, I know.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yes, I do own these characters. (Gets trampled by a mob of Tamora Pierce fans) On second thought, no I don't own them

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Sir Keladry of Mindelan, known as Kel to her friends, looked up when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in." she said.

Owen of Jesslaw entered, looking very nervous.

"Hey, Kel," he said. "Are you going to the ball tonight?"

"Yeah, I am. Are you going?" Kel replied.

Owen blushed. "Yeah. Um, I was wondering if you would go with me."

Kel looked at him, noticing how nervous he looked and decided to take pity on him. "Sure, Owen. I'd like that." she said.

Owen's eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks, Kel! I'll meet you here at the fifth bell." He leaped up and hugged her before running out the door.

Kel grinned and shook her head at how happy Owen seemed.

'I wonder why he didn't ask a Court Lady, she thought. I know Lady Elena of Rosemont would love to go with him. Oh well, I guess it's none of my business.' she thought to herself.

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Kel jumped when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it and saw her two sisters, Oranie and Adalia standing there.

"Oh, Kel! We heard that you got asked to the ball!" Orie gushed as she walked past Kel.

"How did you hear that?" Kel asked, surprised.

"Oh, your friend Nealan told us." Adie said.

"Since you don't have an appropriate dress or face paint, we brought some over." Orie said and for the first time, Kel noticed the cloth bag that Orie was holding.

"No way. You are not putting face paint on me!" Kel protested.

Orie and Adie looked at each other then back at Kel with identical looks of determination.

"You are not going to that ball without face paint. All the Court ladies wear face paint." Adie said.

"I'm not a Court lady! I'm a knight!" Kel said, forcing herself not to pout.

"Yes, but fo you really want to go out there in this dress with no face paint?" Orie asked, pulling the dress out of her bag.

Kel looked at the dress and gasped. It was a light sea-green color with a low cut collar and a full skirt. The sleeves were long but loose, they looked like they would probably cover her hands a little.

"It's beautiful." Kel breathed.

"Exactly." Orie said, "And you need to wear face paint if you want to look beautiful in it."

Kel sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Fine." she said.

"Good." Orie reached into her bag and pulled out a small clear bottle. "Go take a bath and put this in the water. It will soften your skin and make you smell really good."

Kel rolled her eyes and took the bottle. She opened her trunk and pulled out a clean breastband and loincloth and went into her bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the wait on this. My computer likes to be difficult. And sorry if anyone seems a little out of character, I haven't read this series in a while.

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When Kel got out of her bath she put on the breastband and loincloth and walked out, Lalasa, her maid, had joined Orie an Adie. The minute she saw her, Lalasa pulled Kel into a tight hug.

"Oh, Lady Kel, your sisters told me that you have a date for the ball! Is it true?" she asked.

"Um, yeah it's true." Kel replied, feeling a little nervous. She hoped that none of the boys would act weird.

"You need to let her go, Lalasa. We have to get Kel ready." Orie said.

Lalasa immediately let her go with a gasp. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Lalasa." Adie said. She grabbed Kel and pointed at her desk chair. "Sit down."

Kel sat down with a groan. Adie and Orie walked towards her, wearing identical grins.

Orie dug into the bag they had brought with them and pulled out a brush as well as some unlabeled containers, which Adie grabbed.

When Kel saw the containers she started to get up out of the chair. "Adie, don't you dare put too much face paint on me."

Adie forced her back down into the chair. "Don't worry, I won't. You'll look beautiful. Those boys won't know what hit them."

Before Kel could say anything else Orie and Adie converged on her. Orie immediately attacked Kel's hair, brushing out all the tangles, while Adie applied face paint onto Kel.

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Kel stared at herself in the mirror. A beautiful lady with a tumble of brown curls and large hazel eyes stared back at her. Adie had been right; the face paint she'd put on wasn't very noticable at all. All it did was make her eyes and skin stand out more.

The color of the dress brought out gold highlights in her hair and the neckline bared her collarbone and neck, nothing more.

Orie looked at her critically. "Hmm. Needs something else. What do you think, Adie?"

Adie gasped and dug around in her bag. She pulled out a small black box and opened it. Inside was a necklace, a thin, delicate gold chain with a glass rose strung on it.

Kel gasped. "It's beautiful, Adie. But I can't take it, it's yours."

"No it's not." Adie said. "Me and Orie bought it. We were going to give it to you on your birthday but Orie's right. The dress does need something else to complete it." She got behind Kel and fastened it around her neck.

Kel turned around and hugged Adie, then Orie. "Thank you, both of you."

"You're welcome. Now go or you'll be late." Orie said and pushed Kel out the door.

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"So, Owen, who'd you ask to the ball?" Esmond of Nicoline asked.

"He asked Kel." Neal of Queenscove answered.

"Kel? Our friend Kel?" Seaver of Tasride asked. "As in Squire Keladry of Mindelan?"

"No, as in my sister Kel." Neal drawled. "Of course I mean our friend Kel."

"Wow. How'd you manage that?" asked Faleron of King's Reach.

Owen scowled at them. "I just asked her. She said yes. End of story. It's not that hard, you know."

Roald of Conte looked at them. "You guys shouldn't give him such a hard time. Or is it that you're jealous that he got to Kel first?"

"Wha - No - That isn't it!" Neal sputtered, turning red.

They were interrupted by a voice announcing "Squire Keladry of Mindelan." They all looked up and, as one, their jaws dropped when they saw Kel.

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So what do you think? Good? Bad? Please review.


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